Football 
Horse Racing 
Mixed martial arts UFC 282 Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Best Bet: A New Champion?
UFC 282 Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Best Bet: Saturday, December 10th
The main event of UFC 282 this Saturday night will feature a fight between two Light-Heavyweights in Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev. This will be a title fight due to Jiri Prochazka vacating the title because of a shoulder injury. The former champion is looking to regain his crown after losing it a year ago, but the Dagestani up-and-comer is hoping to touch UFC gold for the first time.
In this article:
- UFC 282 Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Preview
- UFC 282 Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Best Bet
UFC 282 Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Preview
Sat, Dec 10th TBD
The former Light-Heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is making his return to the octagon after a 6-month break after defeating Aleksandar Rakic in mid-May. With 29 wins and 9 career losses, Blachowicz is the 3-ranked fighter in the division and is looking to make his way back to the top. He’ll be going up against a very difficult opponent, but the legendary Polish power has already put away 10 of his opponents via KO/TKO, and you can bet Jan will try to do the same here. But at 39 years of age (turns 40 in February), many are saying that Jan won’t be able to win the title again. He was good in his most recent fight against Rakic but a leg injury to his opponent, unfortunately, cut the fight short.
His opponent for this one will be the 4-ranked fighter in the division, the 30-year-old Magomed Ankalaev. With a record of 18 wins and just 1 loss in his MMA career, his record certainly is impressive, especially when you take a look at those 10 KO/TKO wins, 4 of which have come in the UFC. His debut in the organization was far from perfect, losing to Paul Craig via submission, but he has since gone on a 9-fight winning streak, raking down some big names like Nikita Krylov, Volkan Oezdemir, Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith. He is coming off a TKO win against Smith in late July and is looking to extend this winning streak to double digits.
In terms of fighting style, Jan bases his game more on his striking and is a very successful counter-striker. He likes to throw kicks and has immense power in all of his shots. He lands 3.55 but also absorbs 2.77 per minute, and usually avoids running into exchanges. As for Ankalev, he likes to throw high kicks as well and his striking defence is very good. He has a background in combat sambo and this could be the path to victory against a power-puncher like Blachowicz.
UFC 282 Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Best Bet
Both of these fighters are very durable and have solid chins. Neither of them are very aggressive and I expect a healthy dose of respect especially at the beginning of the fight.I give Ankalaev the edge in this one and I expect him to win, but the 1.34 odds next to his name aren’t very enticing. Instead, I’m backing the Over on 2.5 rounds. It will be a slower fight with a feeling out process in the first round, but I expect a fair bit opf grappling as well which will hopefully slow down the fight.
- Selection: Over 2.5 Rounds
- Best Odds: 1.72 (Unibet)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as at 2:00 pm on December 8th, 2022. Odds may now differ.
More Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev Tips
